What was Athenian citizenship?

Citizens. To be classed as a citizen in fifth-century Athens you had to be male, born from two Athenian parents, over eighteen years old, and complete your military service. Women, slaves, metics and children under the age of 20 were not allowed to become citizens.

What was the ideal citizen in Athens?

Athenians believed that a good citizen should have both an intelligent mind and a healthy body. Therefore, book learning and physical training were important.

How were slaves treated in Athens?

In Athens, slaves usually worked in better conditions. There were also more chances for slaves to become free than in Sparta. It seems that most slaves in Athens worked in their master’s households and were treated fairly. Male slaves usually worked in the fields, as craftsmen, or as assistants to soldiers.

Who qualified to be a citizen in ancient Athens?

Not everyone in Athens was considered a citizen. Only free, adult men enjoyed the rights and responsibility of citizenship. Only about 20 percent of the population of Athens were citizens. Women were not citizens and therefore could not vote or have any say in the political process.

Why was it important to be a good citizen in Athens?

In many cities, like Athens, citizenship came with substantial political rights, since all citizens were legally considered to be equals. The desire to respect the rights of citizens is what led Athens to develop the world’s first democracy, as a way for people to have a say in their own government.

What do boys and girls learn in Athens?

Boys were much more educated than girls. They had physical education where they learned sports and gymnastics. They also learned basic math, how to play musical instruments, how to sing, and how to write well. They memorized the Odyssey and the Iliad by Homer because these were the most important works in their world.

What percentage of Athens were slaves?

Exactly how many slaves lived in Athens, which scholars estimate to have been anywhere from fifteen to thirty-five percent of the population, and how many Athenians owned slaves, is impossible to know due to the scarcity of evidence.

What were slaves called in Sparta?

helots
The helots were the slaves of the Spartans. Distributed in family groups across the landholdings of Spartan citizens in Laconia and Messenia, helots performed the labour that was the bedrock on which Spartiate leisure and wealth rested.

What is ancient Athens known for?

Athens was the largest and most influential of the Greek city-states. It had many fine buildings and was named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare. The Athenians invented democracy, a new type of government where every citizen could vote on important issues, such as whether or not to declare war.

What were the responsibilities of Athens citizens?

It was a right to hold Athenian citizenship. All Athenian citizens had the right to vote in the Assembly, debate, own land and own slaves. All Athenian citizens were expected to have military training, be educated, pay their taxes and serve Athens in times of war.

What was Athens known for?

How were slaves in Athens treated?

Q: How were slaves in Athens treated? Slaves in ancient Greece were treated like pieces of property. For Aristotle they were ‘a piece of property that breathes’. They enjoyed different degrees of freedom and were treated kindly or cruelly depending on the personality of the owner.

What did Athenians consider citizenship?

Citizens of Athens had many rights, including the right to stand trial and the right (when Athens was a direct democracy) to vote. But not all people in ancient Athens were citizens. Originally, a free male would be a citizen if his father was a citizen. But Pericles changed that rule in 450 BCE .

What group was allowed citizenship in Athens?

The ecclesia or ekklesia (Greek: ἐκκλησία) was the principal assembly of the democracy of ancient Athens. It was the popular assembly, open to all male citizens as soon as they qualified for citizenship. In 594 BC, Solon allowed all Athenian citizens to participate, regardless of class, even the thetes.

What are the duties of Athenian citizenship?

One of the most profound responsibilities of Athenian citizens was their duty to participate in the military. This duty was so important because Athens did not have a full-time military; rather it consisted of citizens who were called upon in time of war.

Which characteristics was required to be a citizen of Athens?

Athenian Values. In the 4th to 5th century B.C, Athens was going through a prosperous period and in this period its people made remarkable achievements. Athenian citizens in that era were generally expected to have respectful qualities, like openness, a rational mind and belief in their authority, although they did have shortcomings.